「有一次我在工作室畫了兩幅作品，它們前後放在一起，中間有些空隙，有天正好光從兩幅畫之間穿過，我透過前一幅畫看到了第二幅畫的效果，它們朦朧地在我眼睛裡進行了一個重疊。」
墨白有個很動聽的名字，是父親為她起的。「可視墨為動詞，白為名詞，有施墨於白的意思。」
父親是國畫家，著她從小習字，成年時她選擇學習傳統工筆畫，那些年的深耕到後來，紙不再是邊界，墨逐漸傾瀉出來，處處彷似都是她的白。
“I once did two paintings in the studio. They were placed together with only a tiny gap left in between. One day, a ray of light shone through. I got to see the painting at the back through the one in the front. The two paintings just overlapped with each other.”
Mobai has a beautiful name that was given by her father. “You can think of mo (ink) as a verb and bai (white) as a noun, and it will come to the meaning of inking on the white.”
Mobai’s father was a Chinese painter. He instructed her to learn calligraphy from a young age. When she became an adult, she chose to learn traditional Chinese gongbi (fine brushwork) painting. After years of intensive training, paper can no longer set boundaries for her. Everything turned to white, and now her ink goes everywhere.
「工筆畫對我的影響是巨大的，從執筆方式到用色搭配，從技法到材料，雖然我已經不再創作工筆畫了，但我現在用到的所有技巧，除了個人實踐而來，其他所有都來自當時的學習。」
像身體熟悉的習慣，毛筆的觸感自然轉換成畫筆，她現在仍喜歡繪在絹和宣紙上，近看有如皮膚脈落般纖幼。
“From the way of holding the brush to the use of colors, techniques, and materials, fine brushwork painting has a huge impact on me. Although I no longer do fine brushwork, I am still using the techniques that I picked up from old classes and practice.”
As natural as it could be, she has replaced the Chinese brush with a normal brush. However, she still paints on silk and xuanzhi (rice paper). They have such a fine texture, as delicate as the veins on the skin.
「我有收藏靈感的習慣，不管是一個陶瓷表面還是一幅舊牆、一根枝條又或今天晚上的夕陽。無論以怎樣的形式出現在面前，只要有感受到的，我都會把它保存下來。有時候一張畫的具體想法不是拼湊而來，它可能是在創作時間以外，給你建立的一個影像習慣，由它在腦裡重組，創作時便很自然地流動著。」
從下筆的動作為始，一步步明亮起來的，像窗簾被風掀起，遮蔽的地方如晨光漸露。「其實我的創作更像是先開始創作的一個動作。」
“I have the habit of collecting inspiration, whether it’s a piece of ceramic, an old wall, a branch, or the setting sun. No matter how it appears in front of me, as long as I can feel it, I will try to save it. Sometimes the specific idea of a painting doesn’t come from piecing things together; it could be coming from what you’ve collected in your mind when you are not creating. When the time comes, these collections will be reorganized and present themselves naturally when you create.”
Placing the first stroke of a painting marks the beginning of a bright journey. Just like how a curtain is lifted by the wind and you can see light shining over where there was once shadow. “Actually, my creation is more like an action of creating another creation.”
筆下的風景其實也是她的真實軌跡，有些很像是門和窗的視角，像托著頭呆在窗前想探頭看看外面。有些也像整個室內，畫裡會有牆的質感。
「創作『生之曠野』時，我處於剛有了小孩的時期，不太方便出門玩，所以有點像是希望把自然完全引入到我所處的空間內，因為求而不得，所以請他進來。」
The scenery in her paintings is the true depiction of what she sees. It gives you the impression that you are looking through a door or window, from her perspective, trying to explore the world outside; and sometimes, the paintings depict an indoor space where you could even see the texture of the wall.
“I just had my kid when I created Wilderness of Life. I couldn’t go out often at that time, so I wanted to invite nature into where I was. Because I couldn’t reach it, I invited it in instead.”
↓ 生之曠野 Wilderness of Life
「到了『在場』時，我的想法開始出現變化，因為那個時期比較自由自在，我就轉變了自然和我的關係，我可臥遊也可步入。」
“I began to think differently when I created Vita With a View because I felt less restrained than before. My relationship with nature changed. I can enjoy the sight of it or be part of it.”
墨白近幾年的作品都有像是外框般的東西，有時在畫面內，有時在畫面外，以前的看起來似是裱起了的畫，後來畫與框幾乎連成一體了。她試過從外面定製畫框再進行創作，卻發現材質漸漸與畫面割裂開來，後來她改用古典畫框再於表面繪上肌理。框的材質如此一直在變。有完全用紙粘成的，做出來很輕，畫和框是連著。也用過木頭、玻璃，還有比玻璃要脆弱的石膏翻模。
整個過程是在不斷拓荒吧。
Mobai’s work in recent years always comes with a frame-like feature. Sometimes it is part of the painting, sometimes not. While her old paintings are seemingly framed, these recent pieces feature the frame as an integral part of the painting. She has experimented with custom frames, but found that there was a disconnect between the frame and painting. She has also experimented with the frames of classical paintings and tried to paint on them. From then on, the material of the frames she utilizes is constantly changing. There are frames that are made entirely of paper which are very light and connected well with the paintings. There are also frames that are made of wood, glass, and plaster which is much more fragile than glass.
The whole process is like an expedition.
「我不是會先設定結果，然後按照設定去實現的那種創作方式。事實上，即便我很想完全複製或者實現曾有過的一個想法，到最後作品也會走到完全不同的方向去。在學生時代，我會質疑自己的能力，現在會比較享受當中失控的部分。很多時候往往因為錯誤讓你試圖修正，而在修正的過程中得到更好的結果。而且它是由你而為之的。
我可以完全按照自己的想法走，而且它沒辦法停止地湧現，在創作期間我會感受到這種能量在推動著。」
“I don’t create with a goal in mind and then follow a step-by-step plan to achieve it. In fact, even if there is something I want to re-create or that there is an idea I want to materialize, the final product always turns out to be completely different. I used to question my abilities when I was a student. But now, I manage to enjoy that randomness. Most of the time, it is because there is an error you need to fix, and that action of fixing in turns leads to something better. It’s you who makes the decision.
I follow my heart completely, and the ideas never cease to stop emerging. I can feel that energy keep pushing me when I create.”
墨白在北京和伊豆兩地交替居住。在北京時能在充裕的資源下創作，然而為她帶來新想法的，卻是因為身處伊豆時的有所欠缺。無論是創作時間或購買材料時的不便。「地域帶來的很多東西都是新的，可是因為創作在推進，有一些累積會需要一個過程。」那個過程彷彿是，把一個動作重複到熟悉到習慣，才能養出默契接住靈光乍現。時間努力在進行他的工作，我們也進行我們的工作。
「像所有人都不會一開始就那麽篤定一蹴而就地實現到最後的那個選擇吧。過程是學習折騰。」
Mobai lives between Beijing and Izu. Though Beijing offers her abundant resources to create with, it is Izu, where there is the restriction in time and materials, that can always inspire her. “A location can bring in many new ideas. But as you create, it is necessary to accumulate.” To repeat an action until it becomes familiar and eventually turns into a habit, it is then you can be ready to seize that moment of inspiration. Time is working in its own way, so do we.
“Nobody can be that determined to reach for the ultimate goal at the very beginning. It’s about learning to suffer during the process.”
「我父親以前有一句話對我影響很大，他是個皈依宗教的居士，他說畫畫就是他的宗教，他一直在修行。畫畫這件事對我來說也一樣。」
「我畫過一個星球，叫『遠方的石頭』，它是一個接近圓，但又不完全是圓的球體，邊界是徒手畫的，可能每次畫的圓都不是個完美的圓，但經過40遍或50遍重疊後，畫面自然取出了一個均值，讓你覺得她彷彿是個真正存在的球體。可是她不是。細看邊緣沒有一條線是完美的，我覺得這很有意思。」
“My father once said something that has a great impact on me. He was a householder who eventually converted to Buddhism. He said that painting is his religion and he has always been practicing. Just like my father, painting means that same way to me. ”
“I once drew a planet and I called her The Stone From Afar. It is a sphere that is close to a perfect circle. I drew it with my bare hand, and I could hardly get a perfect circle; but with 40 and 50 of them overlapping with each other, the intersection turns out to look like a sphere that actually exists; though it’s not the case. The outline of it is not perfect but I think this is very interesting.”
